Kino: Josephine Baker films

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Lino · #1 Post by **Lino** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:55 am

Kino owns the rights for Josephine Baker's Zou-zou and Princess Tam Tam and obviously these are going to be part of the upcoming 3xDVD set. But does anyone have a clue as to the third one? I'm hoping for Sirene des Tropiques but I could be surprised...any thoughts? And release dates for these? Have they been announced yet?

milk114 · #2 Post by **milk114** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:01 pm

actually it is Siren of the Tropics according to the 2005 catalogue. the only thing in the way of a release date is "coming soon to dvd."

htdm · #3 Post by **htdm** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 1:09 am

Annie Mall wrote:Josephine Baker's Zou-zou and Princess Tam Tam...any release dates for these?

I emailed Kino a couple of years ago to ask about the possibility of their releasing Princess Tam Tam and Zou-Zou as a DVD double feature (like their Paul Robeson DVD) to coincide with Black History Month. I received a very polite reply saying that they were considering the possibility (what else were they going to say?).

Nobody on alt.movies.silent has fessed up to doing a score for Siren of the Tropics and since that is one source of information on the status of silent titles in production, I wonder if they've even begun. Kino has been known to announce titles in their catalog that don't always materialize.

I just hope that they retransfer the two sound films and not just port over those tired Laserdisc transfers -- the prints they used for both titles are pretty scratched.

Still, these three Josephine Baker films (and Eisner's S.O.S. Iceberg) are definitely my most anticipated Kino titles this year.

Lino · #4 Post by **Lino** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 3:47 am

Sweet! June 21 can't come soon enough! I need my Josephine Baker fix!

Lino · #5 Post by **Lino** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:51 am

Annie Mall wrote:Sweet! June 21 can't come soon enough! I need my Josephine Baker fix!

Here are the specs:

Princess Tam Tam

Extras on DVD

* "Josephine Baker: The Films" (2005, 18 min) Includes interviews with Lynn Whitfield (actress, The Josephine Baker Story), Margo Jefferson (New York Times theatre critic), Elizabeth Kendall (dance critic and historian) and Josephine Baker's adopted son Jean-Claude Baker.
* Song Selections
* Stills Gallery
* Optional English subtitles

Zou Zou

Extras on DVD

* "Josephine Baker: The Woman" (2005) Includes interviews with Lynn Whitfield (actress, The Josephine Baker Story), Margo Jefferson (New York Times theatre critic), Elizabeth Kendall (dance critic and historian) and Josephine Baker's adopted son Jean-Claude Baker.
* Video tour of Chez Josephine Jean-Claude Baker's culinary exhibition of rare Josephine Baker paintings and posters.
* Song Selections
* Stills Gallery
* Optional English subtitles

Siren of the Tropics

Extras on DVD

* "Josephine Baker: The Performer" (2005, 18 min.) Includes interviews with Lynn Whitfield (actress, The Josephine Baker Story), Margo Jefferson (The New York Times theatre critic), Elizabeth Kendall (dance critic and historian) and Josephine Baker’s adopted son, Jean-Claude Baker.

* "Oh, Papitou" - NY cabaret impresario Steve Ross performs a musical number written for Siren of the Tropics

* Josephine at the Folies Bergère
- "The Fireman of the Folies Bergère" (8 min.) A rare silent comedy that features Josephine Baker’s first appearance on film.
- "The Charleston," song and performance
- A Folies Bergère Stills Gallery

* The Memoirs of Josephine Baker
- A rare behind-the-scenes video clip
- The Memoir Illustrations: A Stills Gallery

Mouthwatering stuff here! Thanks Kino!

Lino · #6 Post by **Lino** » Mon May 16, 2005 3:44 am

Thanks, carax! Here they are:

Zou Zou
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=15835

Princess Tam Tam
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=15837

Siren of the Tropics
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=15825

They all look very good to me regardless of the reviewer's opinion. I will be defintely picking them up. But I have one question: weren't these supposed to be coming up in a boxset? What happened?

HerrSchreck · #7 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:12 am

Kino has created a JOSEPHINE BAKER BOX grouping the three pervious releases, and made the once-thought-lost 1927 LA REVUE DES REVUES available. Don't know why they didn't just chuck the REVUE in with the box. I guess because most Baker fans already had the first three and they didn't wanna force them. I think they should've made available in & out of the box.

Tommaso · #8 Post by **Tommaso** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:37 am

Good to see. However, marketing the film under the Josephine Baker banner seems rather misleading. She IS in the film, but is just one of a great number of revue stars and performances portrayed in it (I guess, no more than three or five minutes screen time in all). The same marketing trick was made by arte stummfilmedition, though, for their release of that film..